ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad will decide the fate of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in the £190 million corruption case today.
The case, commonly referred to as the Al-Qadir Trust case, accuses PTI founding chairman, his wife Bushra Bibi, and others of causing a loss of £190 million to the national treasury through a controversial settlement between Imran Khan’s government and Bahria Town.
The verdict reserved on December 18 has already been delayed thrice before.
The reference in the 190 million pound case was filed on December 1, 2023. The case has had more than 100 hearings.
What is the £190 million case?
According to NAB, Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz donated 458 kanals of land to Al-Qadir Trust University linked to Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.
The anti-graft watchdog alleges that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi helped Malik Riaz benefit from a £190 million settlement with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
In October 2022 last year, NAB had started investigating the matter. According to NAB documents, on December 3, 2019, in a cabinet meeting chaired by Imran Khan, it was decided to indirectly transfer back the Rs50 billion received by Malik Riaz from the UK. This money was seized by the British National Crime Agency (NCA) from property tycoon Malik Riaz on charges of money laundering.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan had registered a trust for the Al-Qadir University project within weeks of the cabinet decision on December 26, 2019 regarding the real estate developer, which later became the donor for the university.
According to NAB, just 3 weeks before the registration of the trust, Imran Khan’s cabinet had decided to indirectly return the money received by Pakistan through the National Crime Agency to Malik Riaz.
Taking notice of the corruption and corrupt practices in this case, NAB Rawalpindi summoned all the members present in the cabinet meeting on December 3, 2019, including Pervez Khattak, Fawad Chaudhry and Sheikh Rashid, on separate dates under the NAB Ordinance 1999.
The investigation revealed that the agenda for the meeting, titled “Freezing of accounts of Ahmed Ali Riaz, his family, and Messrs Bahria Town, and order for transfer of funds to Pakistan,” was presented by the then-Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Accountability, Shehzad Akbar.
NAB also summoned Ahmed Ali Riaz, Malik Riaz’s son, in connection with the case.
The anti-graft watchdog accuses Imran Khan and his cabinet of misuse of authority, financial gain, and negligence by allowing funds seized by the NCA to be funneled back to Malik Riaz instead of depositing them in the national treasury.
The funds were used to settle Malik Riaz’s debt in the Bahria Town Karachi case, bypassing state interests.
The cabinet decision, sealed as sensitive, prevented public access to the details of the deal. NAB claims this lack of transparency raises serious questions about the misuse of state funds.
The court recorded statements from 35 witnesses.
£190 million corruption case timeline
2019: Imran Khan along with his wife Bushra Bibi, and close aide Zulfiqar Bukhari established Al-Qadir Trust. Imran and his spouse Bushra Bibi obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town for Al-Qadir University.
December 2019: The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) seized assets worth £190 million from property tycoon Malik Riaz. These funds were repatriated to Pakistan during Imran Khan’s tenure as Prime Minister.
In December 2024, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a corruption reference against Imran and seven others, including his wife, in connection with the Al-Qadir University. The NAB reference stated that Imran Khan, then the prime minister, obtained land for their trust from Malik Riaz to build an educational institute in return for releasing an amount of £190 million to a property tycoon in 2020. The deal with Malik Riaz caused a loss of more than $239m to the national exchequer.
May 9, 2023: Imran Khan was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust case, alleging misuse of authority in the settlement with Malik Riaz, causing a £190 million loss to the national exchequer.
May 11, 2023: The Supreme Court declared Imran Khan’s arrest unlawful and ordered his immediate release.
May 12, 2023: The Islamabad High Court granted Imran Khan bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
Feb 27, 2023: Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were indicted in the £190 million Al-Qadar Trust reference.
December 11, 2024: Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi recorded their statements under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Dec 18, 2024: The accountability court reserved its verdict in the case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi with the judgment scheduled for December 23, 2024.
